106: Chapter 106: Only bathwater is provided; drink it or don't.

Zhang Wei looked at Lin Qi's impassive face, pacing in circles out of anxiety.

"Brother Qi, what time is it? How do you still have the mind to eat buns?"

"Look at these comments. They're calling you a 'flash-in-the-pan clown,' and others are saying you must have been kicked in the head by a donkey to drink industrial waste."

"The worst part is this: Li Qingxuan's fan club has opened a betting pool, wagering on when you'll drop dead from the poison. The odds are already ten to one!"

Lin Qi swallowed the last bite of his meat bun and patted the flour off his hands.

"Ten to one?"

He took Zhang Wei's phone and glanced at the pinned betting thread.

The poster's ID was "Captain of the Qingxuan Guard." The lines were filled with leading rhetoric, disparaging ancient martial arts as a dark art that overdraws one's life force.

Most of the replies were in agreement. The occasional few who spoke up for Lin Qi were instantly flamed into oblivion.

"Bet a hundred thousand for me."

Lin Qi tossed the phone back to Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei scrambled to catch the phone, looking utterly bewildered.

"Bet on what?"

"Bet that I won't die."

Lin Qi stood up and stretched his neck, his cervical vertebrae letting out a crisp crack.

"Since someone is giving away money, it'd be a waste not to take it."

Zhang Wei opened his mouth to say something but ultimately just sighed.

"Fine, you're the boss, you call the shots. It's your money anyway; if you lose it all, so be it."

Just then, the old Nokia in Lin Qi's pocket rang.

It was Elder Mo.

"Come to the lab, immediately."

The old man's voice sounded somewhat excited, with the crackle of electricity in the background.

"I have a new discovery."

Lin Qi hung up and looked at Zhang Wei.

"Lock the warehouse door. Don't let anyone in, no matter who it is."

"I'm heading over to Elder Mo's."

...

Ancient Martial Arts Research Department, Underground Laboratory.

Elder Mo, sporting two massive dark circles under his eyes, was staring blankly at an electron microscope.

On the adjacent monitor was a molecular structure diagram magnified countless times.

Seeing Lin Qi enter, Elder Mo grabbed his arm and dragged him to the screen.

"Look at this."

Elder Mo pointed at the hedgehog-like black crystals on the screen.

"I was wrong before."

"This isn't some ordinary associated mineral at all."

Lin Qi stared at the sharp crystalline structures.

"Speak English."

Elder Mo pushed up his glasses and tapped the screen with a pointer.

"The formation conditions for Black Gold are extremely harsh, usually requiring high-pressure environments."

"But I re-analyzed the essence samples from Ghost Hand's body and found that these Black Gold particles are highly magnetic."

"Moreover, this magnetic alignment is incredibly regular, as if it were instantly bombarded by some high-frequency energy."

Elder Mo turned around and looked Lin Qi in the eye.

"In this world, only one natural force can achieve this."

"Lightning."

Lin Qi narrowed his eyes.

"Are you saying that the Shadow Guild's mine is in a lightning zone?"

"Not just any lightning zone."

Elder Mo pulled up a map of the area surrounding Tianhai City and circled a red region to the west.

"Magnetic Black Gold of this purity can only be born in a place covered by perpetual thunderstorms."

“Thunder Ruins.”

Lin Qi looked at the red circle.

That was an S-rank forbidden zone designated by the Federation.

Supposedly, it was a power plant from the Old Era that later became a never-dissipating thunderstorm field due to the influence of source matter tides.

The monsters inside were all lightning-attribute variants, extremely difficult to deal with.

"And?"

Lin Qi found a chair and sat down.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"It has everything to do with you."

Elder Mo picked up a report from the desk and tossed it to Lin Qi.

"Your bones are hard now, but they've only reached the limit of a mortal frame."

"To go a step further and reach the 'Silver Bone' Realm recorded in ancient martial arts, soaking in venom alone isn't enough."

"Venom can only soften the bone matter and help you eliminate Impurities."

"But to cause a qualitative change in the skeleton, you need a hammer."

Elder Mo pointed to the Thunder Ruins on the map.

"Lightning is the best hammer."

"Draw lightning into your body, use the power of heavenly thunder to temper your bone marrow, and completely shatter and recast your mortal frame."

"That is true rebirth."

Lin Qi looked at the map, his finger tapping lightly on the armrest.

Drawing lightning into the body.

This was a high-risk operation even in the martial arts era.

The slightest mistake would turn one into charcoal.

But the rewards were also immense.

Once he achieved "Silver Bone," his physical strength would leap across a major threshold, potentially allowing him to tank the elemental attacks of third-advancement classes.

"This plan is not bad."

Lin Qi folded the report and stuffed it into his pocket.

"I also happen to want to see what those rats from the Shadow Guild are digging for in the Thunder Ruins."

Since the essence in Ghost Hand's body came from there, it meant the Shadow Guild definitely had a base in the Thunder Ruins.

Kill people, seize treasure, and cultivate.

Three birds with one stone.

While the two were discussing the details, the laboratory door was suddenly pushed open violently from the outside.

There was a loud bang.

The heavy security door slammed against the wall, shaking the white lab coat hanging behind it to the floor.

A group of people in uniforms walked in.

The leader was a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a Dean of Academic Affairs badge pinned to his chest.

Behind him followed several security guards carrying detection equipment.

"Is Lin Qi here?"

The middle-aged man's gaze swept across the lab, finally landing on Lin Qi.

His eyes held a business-like coldness and a hint of undisguised loathing.

Elder Mo frowned and stepped in front of Lin Qi.

"Director Zhao, this is the Ancient Martial Arts Research Department. Did you get the Principal's permission to barge in with so many people?"

Director Zhao sneered and produced a document stamped with a red seal.

"Elder Mo, we are just following regulations."

"We received a signed report that a first-year freshman, Lin Qi, is hiding a large amount of high-risk contraband on campus."

"Supposedly, it's highly toxic essence waste transported back from the West Suburb Processing Plant."

Director Zhao pushed up his glasses, the reflection on the lenses masking his eyes.

"If this stuff leaks, the entire school will be affected."

"For the safety of all students and staff, we must immediately search the abandoned warehouse Lin Qi is using."

"Furthermore, if the report is confirmed, Lin Qi will be immediately expelled and handed over to the Federal Police Station."

Just as Elder Mo was about to lose his temper, Lin Qi reached out and pressed down on his shoulder.

Lin Qi stood up and walked over to Director Zhao.

The two locked eyes.

Lin Qi was half a head taller than Director Zhao, and this looming perspective made Director Zhao very uncomfortable.

"The whistleblower is Li Qingxuan, isn't it?"

Lin Qi's tone was flat.

Director Zhao's face stiffened for a moment before he put on a stern expression.

"We must protect the privacy of the whistleblower."

"Lin Qi, please cooperate with our work and hand over the warehouse keys."

Lin Qi pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and spun them around his finger twice.

"The keys are right here."

"But let me give you a piece of advice."

"If you don't find anything, how do we settle this?"

Director Zhao looked at the keys and snorted inwardly.

Someone had seen Lin Qi move ten barrels marked with skulls into the warehouse with their own eyes, and even the scrap yard owner had testified. How could it be fake?

"If no contraband is found, I will apologize to you publicly."

Director Zhao snatched the keys.

"Lead the way!"

...

Back hill, abandoned warehouse.

By now, quite a few students had gathered around the warehouse door to watch the commotion.

Clearly, someone had leaked the news in advance.

Li Qingxuan stood on the outskirts of the crowd, hands in his pockets, with a look of anticipation on his face.

As long as the charge of hiding toxic contraband was proven, no matter how well Lin Qi could fight, he would have to get out of Longya Academy.

Director Zhao took the keys and aggressively opened the warehouse doors.

Several security guards with detection equipment immediately rushed in.

"Be careful! Put on your protective suits!"

"That's high-concentration acidic waste liquid; it's lethal on contact!"

Director Zhao shouted at the entrance, but he himself took two steps back.

However.

A few seconds later.

The confused voices of the guards came from inside the warehouse.

"Director... there's nothing here."

"What?"

Director Zhao blanked for a moment, then, ignoring the danger, quickly walked into the warehouse.

In the cavernous warehouse, there was nothing except for a giant ceramic bathtub in the middle.

The ten iron barrels painted with skulls had vanished without a trace.

The bathtub was full of water, clear enough to see the bottom.

"Where are the barrels? Where's the venom?"

Director Zhao turned to Lin Qi and questioned him sharply.

"Where did you hide the stuff?"

Lin Qi leaned against the doorframe and yawned.

"What venom?"

"I just got some water to take a bath. Is that against the rules too?"

"Nonsense!"

Director Zhao pointed at the bathtub.

"Someone saw with their own eyes that it was green poisonous water! Don't even think about denying it!"

"Test it! Test the water quality for me!"

A guard dipped the instrument into the bathtub.

Beep—

A line of green text popped up on the instrument's screen.

[Composition: H2O (Water)]

[Impurity Content: Extremely Low]

[Toxicity Reaction: None]

The guard looked at the reading and scratched his head.

"Director, it's just ordinary water... cleaner than tap water."

Director Zhao's eyes widened. He snatched the instrument and tested the bathtub himself several times.

The results were exactly the same.

It was just a tub of perfectly ordinary bathwater.

The surrounding students began to whisper among themselves.

"Wasn't it supposed to be highly toxic? Why is it clear water?"

"The Academic Affairs Office must have messed up, right?"

"I told you, who would bathe in poisonous water? That's just asking for death."

On the outskirts of the crowd, Li Qingxuan's face darkened.

He had clearly investigated; those ten barrels were definitely essence waste.

How could they have turned into clear water overnight?

Did Lin Qi drink all the venom?

That defied all logic.

Inside the warehouse, Director Zhao held the instrument, his face turning the color of pig liver.

He looked at the tub of clear water, feeling like his intelligence had been insulted.

"This... this is impossible..."

Lin Qi walked over and scooped some water with his hand.

"Director Zhao, why don't you have a taste?"

"Even though it's my leftovers, it's definitely not poisonous."

"There might be a bit of dead skin, but don't be picky."

The surrounding students burst into laughter.

Director Zhao slammed the instrument onto the ground, his finger trembling as he pointed at Lin Qi.

"You... you just wait!"

"Even if there's no venom, building a private bathhouse in a school warehouse is still a violation!"

"I'm going to deduct your credits!"

With that, Director Zhao slunk away, leading the guards as they squeezed through the crowd in a pathetic escape.

Lin Qi watched their departing backs, the smile on his face slowly fading.

He turned and looked at Li Qingxuan in the crowd.

Their gazes collided in mid-air.

Lin Qi raised his hand and made a throat-slitting gesture.

Li Qingxuan snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Elder Mo walked to Lin Qi's side and looked at the tub of clear water with a complex expression.

Others didn't know, but he knew very well.

The reason this water was so clean was because all the energy and toxins within had been "eaten" dry by Lin Qi's monstrous body.

"It seems your bones are even hungrier than I imagined."

Elder Mo lowered his voice.

"When are you leaving?"

Lin Qi wiped the water from his hands onto his clothes.

"Now."

"Since some people don't want me to live in peace, I'll go to the Thunder Ruins to give them some excitement."

"And while I'm at it, I want to see if this so-called S-rank forbidden zone can split my bones open."